Method of and device for folding shirts and similar garments



July 14, 1959 R. E. CAMPBELL ETAL 2,894,667

METHOD OF AND DEVICE FOR FOLDING SHIRTS AND SIMILAR GAR MENTS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April. 30, 1954 hm. .H 3. mm. mm. N my 02 n2 5. mo. B. O

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METHOD OF AND DEVICE FOR FOLDING SHIRTS AND SIMILAR GARMENTS Filed April 30, 1954 5 SheetsSheet 2 46a n9 INVENTORS, 98 450 94 I Fall, a y/1706c 99 95 v L23 BY Hal- ,2). #1,;

66 67 l m IO! 5 o I H/mw/ {few/- METHOD OF AND DEVICE FOR FOLDING sum'rs AND SIMILAR GARMENTS 5 Sheets-Sheet s :Auurum R. E. CAMPBELL ETAL I07 99 I05 I00 I12 mg July 14, 1959 Filed April; 30. 1954 July 14, 1959 R. E. CAMPBELL ETAL 2,894,657

METHOD OF AND DEVICE FOR FOLDING SHIRTS AND SIMILAR GARMENTS Filed April ISO, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 l g 5 m N I (D ID Q z Q S x '2 6- Q l 2 g a a 0:0 g 3 INVENTOR 3: 0 L2 I 721 6 5 fom atel/ N N I? and! BY arr v .D. Fnre o @QWL.

y 1959 R. E. CAMPBELL ETAL 2,894,667

METHOD OF AND DEVICE FOR FOLDING SHIRTS AND $.:[MILAR GARMENTS Filed April 30. 1954 I Q 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 77 INVENTORS:

0/41; Edam 666 States Patent 'Oflice 2,894,667 METHOD OF AND DEVICE FOR FOLDING snmrs AND SIMILAR GARMENTS nbmr E. Campbell and Harry D. Fors, Anderson, Ind.,

f said Campbell assignor to said Forse Application April 30, 1954, Serial No. 426,826 19 Claims. (Cl. 223-37 down upon the folding device at the beginning of the fOldr ing operation. Inasmuch as the button and button hole strips, which are used for centering are, therefore, concealed from the operator, the centering or aligning op-' eration of the shirt is a haphazard alfair and requires considerable time, skill and special equipment. Moreover in such circumstances it is necessary that the shirt be practically completely buttoned up from the first button to the last button in order to effect a proper alignment.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide an improved and simplified method of folding a shirt or similar garment.

it is also an object of the present invention to provide a shirt-folding machine which will overcome the above mentioned drawbacks and will allow to start the shirtfolding operation with the. shirt bosom side up so that the latter can be properly aligned without having to button up the entire garment.

:It is a further object of this invention to provide a shirt-folding apparatus'which will be considerably simpli-,

tied in its construction and operation over heretofore known shirt-folding devices of this type thereby reducing not only the cost of the'device itself but also the operation and considerably increasing the output.

lhese and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly from the following specification in connection with the accompanying drawings in which: h

Fig. 1 represents a perspective view of an embodiment of a shirt-folding apparatus according to the present invention. I I

Fig. 2 is a view upon the left-hand side (with regard to Fig. 1) of the device shown in Fig. 1 after removal of the left-hand cover plate.

Fig. 3 is-a top view upon the device shown in Fig. 1 after certain parts shrouding elements of the mechanism have been removed and the U-shaped actuating handle proper has been tilted by approximately 90.

Fig. 4 represents .a section along the line IV-IV of Fig. 3. r

- Fig. 5 is a section along the line V-V of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 illustrates a section taken along the line VI-VI of Fig. 3.

Figs. 7 and 8 show a portion of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 6, however in two different positions.

;Fig. 9 shows on a somewhat larger scale than that employed in Fig. 2 a portion of the mechanism illustrated in Bil,- 2',

Patented July 14, 1958 Fig. 10 shows p'artly in section a view of the righthand side (with regard to Fig. l)of the device shownin Fig. 1.

Fig. 11 represents a pneumatic circuit for use in con nection with the present invention. 7

Figs. 12 to 15 illustrate various steps performed by the operator in actuating the shirt-folding apparatusfor folding a shirt. v

While the present invention will be described in connection with the folding of a mans dress shirt, it is, of course, to be understood that the apparatus according to b the present invention may also-be used in connection with the folding of blouses or other garments.

General arrangement The garment-folding apparatus according to the present invention is characterized-primarily by a garment suPPOrt supported in form of a cantilever and comprising a cen-- tral portion and two'side portions operable selectively to be folded onto said central portion or to be swung out therefrom, said garment support being tiltable as a unit about an axis substantially perpendicular to the side edges of said central and side portions. Y

8 Structural arrangement Referring now to the drawings in detail, the shirt-folding apparatus illustrated therein comprises a framework generally designated 1 which is composedsubstantiallv of four posts or uprights 2 (only the front posts being shown in Fig.. 1). These posts have detachably connected thereto for instance by screws 3 outer side panels 4 and 5 and inner side panels 6 and 7 so that between each outer and each adjacent inner panel a compartment is created in which certain elements of the mechanism to be described later are located. The upper end of the" thus created compartments are closed by corresponding covers 8 and 9 which latter may have connected thereto a pin tray 10 for receiving a supply of pins to be used by the operator whenever desired. Connected to the covers 8 and 9 or the framework by braces 11 is a shelf 12 for receiving the folded shirts.

In addition to the above, the lower portion of the space. between theinner panels 6 and 7- may be bridged by a. plate 13 which serves as gatable and simultaneously forms the top of a cabinet generally designated 14 which includes two; doors 15 and 1 ,6 and maybe used for any convenient purpose. I

The shirt-supporting unitor table generally designated with the reference numeral 17 is shown in collapsed condition in Fig. 1 andin unfolded condition in Fig. 3. As

will be seen from these figures, the shirt-supporting tableis a collapsible table composed substantially of three parts, namely the central part or base 18 and the two side parts or flaps 19 and 20. When the device according to the present invention occupies its idle or rest position shown in Fig. l, the central part 18 of the table is the uppermost part, while the other parts 19 and 20 are folded underneath said central part- 18. The central part 18 is preferably provided with cutout corners 21 to facilitate the grasping of the folded shirt as will be more evident in connection with the description of the operation of the device. As will be clearly seen from Fig. 1,

the central" part -18 of the supporting table is slightly curved. Connected in any convenient manner to that,

side of'the table part 18 which in the rest positioneof the device forms the uppermost surface of part 18 areclamping strips 22. These strips are slightly spaced from the adjacent surface of part 18 so as to allow the insertion of a shirt-stiffening cardboard between said clamping strips 22 and the adjacent surface of the cenr tral part 18 which cardboard is then, firmly but detachmarily inserted into each folded shirt in order to maintain the latter in stiffened position and thus to preserve the appearance of the shirt. However, the device according to the invention can, of course, also be used without inserting a cardboard between said clamping strips.

The central part or base 18 has its rear end connected in any convenient manner, for instance by bolts 23 to a plate 24 which extends substantially parallel to the front side of the device. The plate 24 has connected thereto for instance by welding bearing sleeves 25 through which extend bent rods 26. The front end of said bent rods 26 when looking at the shirt-folding device from the front is rigidly connected to the adjacent flap 19, respectively as will be clearly seen from Fig. 3. As will also be evident from Fig. 3, the flaps 19 and 20 are slightly spaced from the central part 18. The rods 26 are journalled in the bearing sleeves in such a manner that the turning of the bent rods 26 in the sleeves 25 will respectively tilt the flaps 19 and 20 about a respective axis which is substantially parallel to the adjacent side edges of the central part 18. Rigidly connected to each of the rods 26 is a pinion 27, 27a respectively. Each of the rods 26 has also connected thereto a collar 28, 28a for cooperation with a sickle-shaped lever 29, 29a the function of which will be explained later.

The pinion 27 connected to each of the rods 26 respectively meshes with a rack 30, 31. The rack 30 is connected to a piston 32 reciprocably mounted in a cylinder 33 which latter is rigidly connected to the plate 24 in any convenient manner. Similarly, the rack 31 is connected to a piston 34 likewise reciprocably mounted in the cylinder 33. Each of the racks 30, 31 has a collar 35, 36 respectively engaged by one end of a spring 37, 38 respectively. The other ends of said springs are respectively engaged by nuts 39, 40 respectively adjustable on hollow tubular members 41, 42. The characteristics of the springs 37, 38 are different, in other words one spring is stronger than the other spring in order to return the respective rack 30, 31 at different speed to thereby tilt the flaps 19, 20 at different speed back into their folded-in position. This is necessary to prevent said flaps 19, 20 when swinging back underneath the central part 18 from colliding with each other. These hollow tubular members serve as support for the rodshaped ends 43, 44 respectively connected to the collars 35 and 36 and extending into said tubular members 41, 42. It will be evident that when the pistons 32, 34 are moved toward the adjacent ends of the cylinder 33, the racks 30, 31 will rotate the bent rods 26 to thereby rotate the flaps 19 and 20. While the racks 30, 31 move outwardly, the collars 35, 36 will compress the springs 37, 38 so that said springs are sufiiciently loaded to return the pistons 32, 34 whenever the pressure acting upon the pistons 32, 34 subsides.

The hollow tubular members 41, 42 are connected in any convenient manner to side plates 45, 46 which in their turn are rigidly connected to the longitudinal plate 24. The side plates 45, 46 have a forwardly protruding extension 45a, 46a (Figs. 1 and 3) which have con nected thereto a bearing boss 47, 48 (Figs. 4 and 5) re spectively journalled on a pivot 49, 50. Also connected to the extensions 45a, 46a are forwardly protruding bars 66, 67 which preferably have connected thereto in any convenient manner rubber strips 68, 69 which extend into the immediate neighborhood of the flaps 19, 20 for a purpose which will be described in detail in connection with the operation of the device. When the folding device is in its rest or idle postion, the supporting unit and the bars occupy a slightly forward tilted position in which. bar 67 engages an abutment 70 (Fig. 1).

The rear end of the side plates 45, 46 which are inter connected by a longitudinal transverse plate 51 have each connected thereto an car 52, 53. The ear 52 is engaged by one end of a tension spring 54, the other end of which engages a pin 55 connected to a short finger 56 (Figs. 3 and 6 to 8). The finger 56 is pivotally connected to one end of the sickle-shaped lever 29, the other end of which is rigidly connected to one end of a pivot 57 which extends through a tubular bearing 58. The other end of the pivot 57 which extends through the plate 24 has connected thereto a collar 59 which latter carries a clamping finger 60. The free end of the clamping finger 60 extends over the central part 18 of the shirt-supporting table 17. The car 53 of the side plate 46 is similarly connected to a spring which in its turn is connected with a mechanism of the same type just described. Therefore, corresponding elements are designated with the same numerals but with the aflix a. The arrangement is such that the springs 54, 54a will always shift the sickle-shaped lever 29, 29a into an offcenter position similar to a toggle mechanism so that the levers 29, 29a and consequently the fingers 60, 60a are positively held in either one of their two end positions. These two end positions are shown in Figs. 6 and 7. As will be seen from Fig. 6, the fingers 60 and 60a are lifted off the central table part 18 or the shirt carried thereby whereas according to Fig. 7 the finger 60 engages the central table part 18 or the shirt supported thereby.

The casing made up by the front plate 24, side plates 45, 46 and rear plate 51 is preferably covered by a top plate 61 so that the entire mechanism surrounded by said plates is fully covered up and protected against the accumulation of dirt, lint and the like. The front plate 24 has furthermore connected thereto ears 62 and 63 which carry rubber pads 64, 65 serving as abutment for the adjacent flaps 19 and 20 to thereby limit their outward swing.

As has been indicated above, the front end of the side plates 45 and 46 are by means of the bosses 47, 48 journalled upon the pivots 49, 50 so that the entire casing made up by the plates 24, 45, 46, 51 and 61 can tilt about the pivots 49 and 50. Also tiltably mounted on the pivot 49 is a collar 71, which in its turn has rigidly connected thereto for instance by welding one end of a U-shaped *handle 73 which represents the operating handle proper. The other end of the U-shaped handle 73 is rigidly connected to a collar 72 which in its turn is pivotally mounted on the pivot 50. The central portion of said U-shaped handle 73 has connected thereto in any appropriate manner a supporting element 74 which in its turn carries a supporting plate 75 and a pneumatic cylinder 76. Reciprocably mounted in the cylinder 76 is a piston 77 carrying a connecting rod 78-. This connecting rod passes through the plate 75 and has its free end connected to a plate 79 which is substantially parallel to the plate 75. This connection may be effected in any desired manner, for instance by a nut 80. Also connected to the plate 79 by means of nuts 81 are rods 82 which pass through supporting sleeves 83 carried by the plate 75. The front ends of the rods 82 are somewhat bent as particularly clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and carry a shirt tail aligning element 84. The plate 79 has connected thereto one end of two tension springs 85, 86 the other end of which is connected to a plate 87 which is preferably rigidly connected to the front end of the cylinder 76. The arrangement is such that when a fluid pressure means acts upon the piston 77 so as to move the connecting rod 78 and therefore also theplate 79 outwardly, the shirt tail aligning element 84 is moved from its outermost position to its innermost position. When, on the other hand the pressure fluid means is released, the springs 85, 86 pull the plate 79' in the direction toward the cylinder 76 and thus push the piston 77 inwardly. In order to allow the piston 77 when subjected to pressure fluid means quickly to move toward the plate 75, the cylinder 76 has that end thereof which is adjacent the plate 75 provided with an air vent 88. It should be noted that when the shirt tailaligning element 84 is in its outer-most position and together with the handle '73 is moved downwardly to its lowermost innermost position, itwill partly underlie said central part of the shirt-supporting unit. I

The supporting element 74 which carries the plate 75 and the cylinder 76 has connected to its lower surface a casing 89 which carries a strip of sponge rubber 90 or the like. This sponge rubber strip is adapted yieldably to engage the bosom side of a shirt supported by the shirt-supporting unit 17. m

The side arms of the U-shaped handle 73 have connected thereto an abutment element 91 fo'r engagemnt and, actuation of a lever 92 which is keyed or "connected to the pivot 49 for instanceby a set screw 93so that actuation of the lever 92 by the abutment element 91 of the handle 73 will bring about a corresponding rotation of the pivot 49. The outer end of the pivot 49 is journalled" in a sleeve 94 carried by an arr'n'i95. vThat portion of the pivot 49 which extends outwardly beyond the bearing sleeve 94 has connected thereto a collar 9V6 which in its turn carries a lever 97. This lever 97 is vpivotally con.-

nected through pivot 98 with a lever 99 which in its turn" is pivotally connected at 100 with a manually operable lever 101. The lower end of the lever 99 protrudes" beyond the lower edge of the lever 101 and is adapted to engage an arm 102 preferably by a bent portion 100a. The arm 102 is pivotally connected at 112 to the cam 104. The front end of the lever 101 extends through a slot 103 and is provided with. a, knob 101a. The lever 101 ,ex-'

tends through said slot which is provided in the lefthand front post 2 of. the apparatus shown in Fig'. The other end of the lever 101 is rigidly connected in any' desired manner for instance by welding with a cam 104. This cam is eccentrically pivotally connected at v105 with'aboss 106 connected to-the frame structure. A tension spring 107 having one end connected to an car 108 of the cover plate 8 has its other end connected to the arm 102 so as to continuously urge the latter to tilt about the pivot point 112. The lower surface of the cam 104 represents the actual cam surface which is arranged for cooperation with a roller 109 carried by a control lever 110. A tension spring 111 which has its upper end connected to a stationary point of the framework has its lower .end connected to the control lever so as continuously to urge the roller 109 into engagement with the cam 104 The arrangement. is such that when the knob 101a of the lever 101'occupies it s lowermost position, the control lever 110 occupies the posi-"j tion shown in Fig. 2. .On the other handwh e'n the knob. 101a is in its uppermost position in; the slot 103, the,

control lever 110 occupies a position according towhich the longer arm thereof is down and .the "shorter" thereof is up, i.e. a position reverse to that of l ig. 2.

The arm 102 represents a feeder arm and has either rigidly connected thereto or integral therewith an arm 113 which extends through the panel 4 outwardly (Fig. 1) into-a groove 114a of a magazine" 114" adapted to be loaded with bands 115. As will be seen from Fig. l, the, magazine 114 is connected in any convenient man ner to the outside of the panel 4, and the a'rmf113 'of the. feeder arm 102 is below the lowermost :band 115. f'Also'. extending through the panel 4 is a pipe 116 which has.

connected thereto a nozzle. 117.. --Thisjnozz le is suspended over the uppermostban d 115 and has itslow ermost surface slightly spherically shaped. The nozzle has a bleeder opening'117q. which extends through apg proximately the central portion of 'said slightly. spherical surface and communicates with the pipe 116. The pipe 116 communicates with a pneumatic circuit which will be described later. The purpose of the nozzle 11 con-j sists in cooperation with the armv 113 to pickup the respective uppermost band 115 so thatthe operator at the end of the folding operation can easily (grasp the respecduit'134 communicates on one hand through pipe 116 leasing air through the bleeder opening of the nozzle- 117, the uppermost band 115 will stickto the nozzle 11 3s that when the arm 113 is lowered all bands with the exception of the uppermost band 115 are separatedfrom'the nozzle 117. In other words only one band 115 remains stuck to the nozzle 117 and thus can easily be grasped by the operator.

l l eferring now to Figs. 5 and 10, it will be seen that apinion1 18,is drivingly connected through a sleeve 48a tqjtheboss'48 so that rotation of the pinion 118 will tilt the casing made up of the plates 24, 45, 46, 51 and 61 together with the elements carried thereby. This pinion meshes with a rack 1'19 forming a part of a piston rod 120 connectedi'tothe' piston 121 in a pneumatic cylinder 122..

The 'nppermost end of the cylinder 122 is provided with a. ble'ede'ropening 123. To facilitate the movement of the rack 119; there is provided a roller 124 whichis "while the arrangement according to the invention may be actuated by means other than pneumatic means, it hasbeen foundpreferable to actuate the folding device according to the invention by pneumatic means and; therefore; the device has been shown and will be described in connection with a pneumatic circuit. The pneumatic cire: cuit'w'ill bestbe understood from the diagrammatic illustration in Fig. l1. The pneumatic circuit as shown thereincoinpiis'es apipe 125 which is adapted to be connected with a hose or the like serving as conveying means for air under pressure. The pipe 125 is preferably connected with'an air filter 126 which in its turn communicates with an adjustable pressure control valve. The valve 127 communicates with an air gauge 128 and an adjustable master control valve 129 for controlling the supply of.

air to pneumatic cylinders actuating the respective folding elements. The master control valve 129 communicate's through a conduit 130 with a master stem valve 131 which is closed when the folding apparatus is" not in operation. The master stem valve 131 communicates with a conduit 132 which latter leads to a stem valve 133. The stem valve 133 is open when the folding device is'not in operation. The stem valves 131 and 13 3- are adapted alternately to be opened by means of the lever 110 (see also Fig. 2). From the valve 133 a con- With the the nozzle 117 (see also Fig. 1). On the other hand the conduit 134 communicates with a control valve 135 which controls the passage through the exhaust pipe 136.

Branching ofifrom the conduit 132 is a pipe 137 which leads to the-cylinder 76 which latter controls the opera-1 tion of the shirt tail aligning element 84 (see also Figs.-

1 and 2)? Branching on from the pipe 137 is a conduit 138 .which comprises a controlvalve 139 and leads to-thecylinder 122. The control valve 139 controls the supply of air to the turnover cylinder 122, which as stated above actuates' the rack 119 for tilting the handle 73.

Branching off from the pipe 137 is a conduit 140 which leads to the cylinder 33 (see also Fig. 3) for actuating the flaps 19 and 20. The pneumatic circuit shown in Fig. 11

represents'the various elements in their respective position which they occupy when the folding apparatus is. in its rest or idle position. The purpose of the valve 129 con-- sists in-selectively shutting off the air supply to all of the 7 cylinders, for instance for purposes of adjustment, repair or the like. Similarly the valve 139 may selectively be closed or be adjusted for a desired control of the cylinder 122. If desired there may also be provided a similar control valve in the conduit 140 and also in the pipe 137 immediately preceding the cylinder 76.

The pneumatic circuit works in the following manner. It may be assumed that the valves 127, 139 and 135 have been set in a desired manner and that the circuit is to be made effective. To this end the lever 110 is tilted so that the stem valve 131 is opened whereupon the spring 141 automatically closes the valve 133. Air under pressure from pipe 125 then passes through the air filter 126, valve 127, valve 129, conduit 130, now open valve 131, pipe 137, and conduit 140 into the cylinder 33 where the air acts upon the pistons 32 and 34 which in their turn through the pinions 27, 27a swing the flaps 19 and 20 outwardly from the positions shown in full lines into the dotdash positions. At substantially the same time air also rushes from the pipe 137 into the cylinder 76 which latter in the manner described above moves the shirt tail aligning element 84 partly underneath the central part 13 of the table unit 17.

Furthermore air from the pipe 137 passes into conduit 138 and from there into the cylinder 122 where it acts upon the piston 121 and moves the rack 119 outwardly. This in turn through pinion 118 and plate 24 swings the supporting unit 17 backwardly together with the handle 73 locked to the supporting unit.

When the various pneumatic cylinders and the parts controlled thereby are intended to return to their initial positions, the lever 110 is again tilted into the position shown in Fig. 11. As the result thereof the valve 131 again closes due to its spring 142 thereby closing off the connection of all cylinders with the air pressure supply 125. Furthermore the valve 131 is again opened and thus brings about communication of each of the cylinders 33, 76 and 122 with the exhaust 136 so that the springs associated with the cylinders practically instantly return the respective pistons pertaining to said cylinders to their previous positions While the air is quickly exhausted through the exhaust 136. The elements controlled by the said pistons therefore are by means of the respective springs returned to their previous positions illustrated in Fig. 11 in full lines. A small portion of the outrushing air is also passed through pipe 116 and the bleeder opening 117a of nozzle 117 with the result that the uppermost band of the bands in the magazine 114 sticks to the nozzle 117.

Operation of the folding apparatus It may be assumed that the folding apparatus has been properly hooked up with an air pressure supply line and that the various valves have been properly set as described in connection with the pneumatic circuit. It may furthermore be assumed that the folding apparatus occupies its rest or idle position and that it is now desired to fold a shirt. Also assuming that a stifiening cardboard has to be in the folded shirt, the operator first clamps a corresponding cardboard underneath the clamping strips 22 so that the cardboard does not protrude beyond the longitudinal sides of the central part 18.

As next step the operator places the shirt to be folded in the manner shown in Fig. 12 upon the cardboard while buttoning just one single button namely the collar button. Thereupon the operator presses the clamping fingers 60, 60a downwardly so that their free ends press against the shoulder portions of the shirt adjacent the collar. Due to the springs 54 and 54a which, as previously explained act as off-center springs upon the fingers 60 and 60a through the sickle-shaped levers 29, 2%, the free end of the fingers 60, 60a remains firmly pressed against the shoulder portions of the shirt and in this way hold the shirt in the position placed by the operator. Inasmuch as the "bosom side of the shirt is up, the operator has a full view of the buttons and button holes and now in, a vary simple and accurate manner can line up the buttons with the button hole strip. As soon as this aligning operation has been efiected, the operator grasps the U-shaped handle 73 and tilts the same toward herself as shown in Fig. 13. When during this tilting movement the abutment element 91 engages the level 92, the latter is carried along and tilts the lever 97 and through the latter the lever 101 upwardly so that the cam 104 is tilted in counter-clockwise direction with regard to Figs. 2 and 9. As a result thereof the roller 109 rolls to the rear cam surface of cam 104 while the spring 111 holds the roller 109 in contact with said last mentioned section of the cam surface. Due to the tilting movement of the cam 104, the lever (Figs. 2 and 11) has tilted from the position shown in Figsv 2 and 11 into the position of Fig. 9 in which the valve 131 is now open, while the valve 133 is now closed. The knob 101a now occupies its uppermost position in the slot 103. In the manner described above in. connection with the pneumatic circuit, air under pressure rushes into the cylinder 33, pushes the racks 30, 31 outwardly and through pinions 27, 27a swings the flaps 19 and 20 outwardly into the position shown in Fig. 13. While the pinions 27, 27a are rotated in this manner, the pins 144, 144a eccentrically arranged and connected to the collars 28, 28a merely slip along the fingers 56, 56a while slightly tilting the same about the pivot 145 without, however, actuating, the levers 29, 2911. Since said levers are rigidly connected to the fingers 60, 60a respectively, they cannot be tilted further in the direction of the arrow A because the said fingers are arrested in this direction by engagement with the central part 18 or rather the shirt supported by said central part.

When the flaps 19, 20 occupy their swung-out positions, the rubber strips 68, 69 are in close contact with the adjacent portions of the shirt so that the shirt portions adjacent the longitudinal sides of the outer flaps are well kept in place.

Shortly after the flaps 19 and 20 have been swung out into the positions of Figs. 3 and 13, the handle 73 has reached its lowermost position which is marked by the abutment of the handle 73 which the bars 66, 67 and the piston 77 pushes the shirt tail aligning element 84 inwardly into the positions shown in Figs. 3 and 13. It will be appreciated that the shirt is now firmly clamped and held against the top surface of the shirt-supporting unit, namely adjacent its collar by the fingers 60, 60a, along the outer longitudinal edges of the flaps 19 and 20 by the rubber strips 68, 69 and along the buttons and button strip by the sponge rubber piece 90 in cooperation with the shirt tail aligning element 84 which latter simul taneously has folded the shirt tail portion underneath the central part 18. By this time air under pressure has entered the turnover cylinder 122, and the operator lets go the handle 73. The piston 121 (Fig. 10) in the turn over cylinder 122 is now pushed upwardly to thereby cause the rack 119 to turn the pinion 118 and through the latter to tilt plate 24 and the supporting unit 17 connected thereto upwardly. Inasmuch as the handle 73 and element 84 are locked to the unit 17, the said handle and the element 84 are taken along by the unit 17. The folding apparatus now occupies the position of Fig. 14. Any accidental sliding movement of the shoulder portions or immediate sleeve portions of the shirt during this tilting back operation is prevented by the engagement of the rubber strips 68, 69 with the corresponding shirt portions. The operator now grasps first one sleeve and places the same across the portion of the shirt tucked under by the element 84 which is now up as indicated in Fig. 14 and then places the other sleeve similarly across said tucked-under portion.

Finally the operator tilts. a small central flap 143 which is hinged to the rear end of the central part 18 in counterclockwise direction with regard to Fig. 14 so that it rests on the adjacent sleeve portions. Thereupon the operator grasps theknob 101a and pushes the lever 101 downwardly as. far as it will go in the slot 103. As a result thereof the earn 104 is tilted in clockwise direction with regard to Fig. 2 so that the .lever- 110 is tilted into the position shown in Figs. 2 and 10. This opens the valve 133 and causes the valve 131 to close. Consequently the supply of air under pressure to the various cylinders 33, 76, and 122 is interrupted and the said cylinders are exhausted as described in connection with the circuit of Fig. 11. Therefore the springs 37, 38 push the racks 30, 31 inwardly. During this movement the pinions 27, 27a are rotated so as to fold the flaps 19, 20 inwardly whereby the shirt will be held in folded condition between said flaps and the central part 18. As indicated previously one flap tilts with a slight delay with regard to the other flap so as to avoid colliding of said flaps. While the pinions 27, 27a rotate, the pins 144, 144a which are eccentrically connected to the collars 28, 28a catch below the fingers 56, 56a (Fig. 8) so as to actuate the sickle-shaped levers 29, 29a and to tilt the same from Fig. 8 position into Fig. 6 position with the result that the fingers 60, 60a are lifted off the shirt. It will be appreciated that in this instance the pins 144, 144a do not slip by the fingers 56, 56a because the movement of the fingers 60, 60a away from the shirt is not restricted by the central part 18 while on the other hand any material tilting movement of the fingers 56, 56a necessary to allow the pins 144, 144a to slip by said fingers is resisted by the springs 54,- 54a. Thus the shirt is released by the fingers 60, 60a. Themovement of fingers 60, 60a away from the shirt is stopped when the levers 29, 29a engage collars 28, 28a respectively (Fig. 6).

Similarly the springs 85, 86 pull the plate 79 toward the plate 75 so as to move the piston 77 inwardly and to move the element 84 outwardly. Thus, the element 84 is withdrawn from the shirt and the handle 73 is unlocked from the supporting unit 17. The springs 146 (Fig. 1) having one end connected to the shelf 12 and another end connected to an arm 147 fastened to the handle 73 then hold the handle 73 in upward position, while the unit 17 is moved into the position shown in Fig. 15 by means of the spring 120 which pushes the piston 121 inwardly and thus through rack 119 rotates the pinion 118 which latter is operatively connected with the front plate 24. When the bar 67 abuts the abutment 70, further tilting forwardly of the unit is prevented and the inward movement of the piston 121 is stopped.

The shirt is now provided with a band 115 from the magazine-114. In. this connection it will be appreciated that when the knob 101a is moved into its uppermost position so that the earn 104 tilts in counter-clockwise direction with regard to Fig. 2, the arm 113 forming a part of the arm 102 is pulled upwardly by the spring 107 thereby lifting the bands against the nozzle 117.

When thereafter the knob 10101 is pushed downwardly and a portion of the air begins to blow out of the nozzle opening 117a, the uppermost band will stick to the nozzle opening and can be grasped therefrom by the operator.

and he placed around the-shirt. It will be appreciated that the lower end of the lever 99 normally maintains a certain ,distancebetween the lever 101 and the lever 102 so that when the lever 101 is moved downwardly. and the cam 104 through the intervention of the lever 110 begins to allow. the exhaust valve 133 to open, the downward movement of the lever 102 and thereby the arm 113 is slightly delayed whichmeans that the stack of bands 115 supported by the arm.- 113 moves downwardly only after the uppermost band already sticks to the nozzle 117.

The shirt is then grasped as shown in Fig. 15 and pulled off the supporting unit 17 together with the cardboard insertedtherein. This completes the shirt-folding opera tion. The cutout portions at the front corners of the 10 central part 18 materially facilitate the grasping of .the folded shirt.

It is, of course, to be understood that the present invention is, by no means, limited to the particular construction shown in the drawings but also comprises any tions within the scope of the appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. In combination in a garment-folding apparatus: a

stationary frame, supporting means, pivot means con'-- nected to said supporting means, bearing means station-.

arily supported by said frame and tiltably supporting said pivot means to thereby tiltably but stationarily journal said supporting means, and a garment support having a.

central portion rigidly connected to said supporting means and having its longitudinal extension substantially perpendicular to the tilting axis of said supporting means, said garment support also comprising two'side portions respectively arranged alongside the side edges of said central portion and supported by said supporting means, each of said side portions being tiltable relative to saidtiltable supporting means and about an axis substantiallyparallel to and near the respective adjacent longitudinal edge of said central portion.

2. In combination in a garment-folding apparatus: a frame, supporting means tiltably but stationarily journalled in said frame, a garment support having a central.

portion rigidly connected to said supporting means and having its longitudinal extension substantially perpendicular to the tilting axis of said supporting means, saidgarment support also comprising two side portions respectively arranged alongside the side edges of said cen-" tral portion, each of said side portions being tiltable porting means for selectively tilting said supporting means about the tilting axis of the latter.

3. In combination in a garment-folding apparatus: a

frame, supporting means tiltably mounted in said frame,

a garment support having a central portion rigidly con. nected to said supporting means and having its longi-' tudinal extension substantially perpendicular to the tilt-;; ing axis of said supporting means, said garment support also comprising two side portions respectively arranged alongside the side edges of said central portion, each of";

said side portions being movable relative to said tiltable supporting means while being tiltable about an axis sub-j stantially parallel to and near the respective adjacent; longitudinal edge of said central portion, and a-fluid' pressure operable cylinder piston system operatively connected with said side portions of said garment support for swinging said side portions selectively toward or away from said central portion of said garment support.

4. In combination in a garment-folding apparatus: a

frame, supporting means tiltably mounted in said frame,-. a garment support having a central portion rigidly connected to said supporting means and having its. longi.

tudinal extension substantiallyperpendicular to the tilting axis of said supporting means, said garment support alsocomprising two side portions respectively arranged along side the side edges of said central portion, each of said side portions being movable relative to said tilable supporting means and being tiltableabout anaxis sub-,.. stantially parallel to and near the respective adjacent longitudinal edge-of said central portion, a fluid pressure ope'rable cylinder piston arrangement operatively. co'nnected with said tiltable supporting means for selectively tilting the same, a fluid pressure cylinder piston system operatively connected with said side portions and operable selectively to tilt each of said side portions about the respective tilting axis thereof, inlet valve means controlling the supply of pressure fluid to said fluid pressure operable ill cylinder piston arrangement and said fluid pressure operable cylinder piston system, means continuously urging said inlet valve means into its closed position for interrupting the supply of pressure fluid to said cylinder piston arrangement and said cylinder piston system, and handle means pivotally connected to said tiltable supporting means and operable to actuate said inlet valve means for opening the same to thereby allow passage of pressure fluid to said cylinder piston arrangement and said cylinder piston system.

5. In combination in a garment-folding apparatus: a garment support having a central portion and two side portions, said side portions being arranged for selective folding movement toward or away from said central portion, supporting means supporting said garment support, frame means pivotally supporting said supporting means to allow tilting of said supporting means, and clamping means tiltably supported by said frame means and includ ing a member arranged for contact with the button hole strip of a garment placed on said support and operable to press said button hole strip together with the aligned button strip of the garment against said central portion for holding said strips in alignment with each other during the folding of said garment.

6. In combination in a garment-folding apparatus: a

garment support having a central portion and two side portions, said side portions being arranged for selective folding movement toward or away from said central portion, supporting means supporting said garment support in cantilever manner, frame means pivotally supporting said supporting means to allow tilting of said garment support about the tilting axis of said supporting means, clamping means tiltably supported by said frame means and including an element for contact with the button strip of a garment placed on said support for pressing said button strip together with the button hole strip of the garment after said strips have been aligned with each other against said central portion, and an auxiliary fluid pressure operable cylinder piston assembly arranged for cooperation with said clamping means to selectively l-ock said clamping means to said central portion.

7. In combination in a garment-folding apparatus: a garment support having a central portion and two side portions, said side portions being arranged for selective folding movement toward or away from said central portion; frame means; supporting means tiltably mounted in said frame means and supporting said garment support in cantilever manner; a fluid pressure operable cylinder piston arrangement operatively connected to said tiltable supporting means for selectively tilting the same; a fluid pressure operable cylinder piston system operatively connected with said side portions for selectively tilting the latter; clamping means arranged for cooperation with said central portion to clamp the button hole strip and button strip of a garment against each other and against said central portion when said strips are in alignment with each other; an auxiliary cylinder piston assembly arranged for clamping said clamping means against said strips and said central portion and holding said clamping means in clamping condition; and valve means operable selectively for controlling the supply of pressure fluid to and the exhaust of pressure fluid from said cylinder piston arrangement, said cylinder piston system, and said auxiliary cylinder piston assembly.

8 A garment-folding apparatus according to claim 7, which includes manually operable lever means for actuating said valve means.

9. In combination in a garment-folding apparatus: a garment support having a central portion and two side portions, said side portions being arranged for selective folding movement toward or away from said central portion, a cylinder piston arrangement having movable means operable in response to fluid pressure acting thereupon to fold said side portions away from said central portion, first spring means associated with said cylinder piston arrangement and arranged to fold said side portions toward said central portion in response to the release of fluid pressure from said cylinder piston arrangement, supporting means supporting said garment support in cantilever manner, and frame means pivotally supporting said supporting means to allow tilting of said supporting means about an axis substantially perpendicular to the side edges of said central and side portions.

10. In combination in a garment-folding apparatus: a garment support having a central portion and two side portions, said side portions being arranged for selective folding movement toward or away from said central portion, a cylinder piston arrangement having movable means operable in response to fluid pressure acting thereupon to fold said side portions away from said central portion, first spring means associated with said cylinder piston arrangement and arranged to fold said side portions toward said central portion in response to the release of fluid pressure from said cylinder piston arrangement, supporting means supporting said garment support in cantilever manner, frame means pivotally supporting said supporting means to allow tilting of said supporting means about an axis substantially perpendicular to the side edges of said central and side portions, a fluid pressure operable cylinder piston system having a movable member operatively connected to said tiltable supporting means and operable in response to fluid pressure acting upon said last mentioned movable member to tilt said supporting means about its tilting axis from a first position into a second position, and spring means operatively connected with said cylinder piston system and arranged to return said supporting means from its second position to its first position in response to the release of pressure fluid from said cylinder piston system.

ll. An apparatus according to claim 10, which includes an aligning member arranged for cooperation with said central portion, and also includes a fluid operable auxiliary cylinder piston assembly having a movable member operable in response to the supply of pressure fluid to said auxiliary cylinder piston assembly for moving said aligning member into partial overlapping position with said central portion, and spring means associated with said auxiliary cylinder piston assembly and operable in response to the release of pressure fluid from said cylinder piston assembly to move said aligning member out of overlapping position with said central portion.

12. In combination in a garment-folding apparatus: a garment support having a central portion and two side portions, said side portions being arranged for selective folding movement toward or away from said central portion, supporting means supporting said garment support in cantilever manner, frame means pivotally supporting said supporting means to allow tilting of said supporting means about an axis substantially perpendicular to the side edges of said central and said side portions, and holding fingers movably supported by said supporting means and movable into a first position for engaging a portion of a garment placed on said garment support, said fingers being movable into a second position in which they are lifted ofl said garment portions, and means operatively connected to said side portions for automatically moving said fingers into said second position in response to the folding movement of said side portions toward said central portion.

13. In combination in a garment-folding apparatus: a garment support having a central portion and two side portions, said side portions being arranged for selective folding movement toward or away from said central portion, a cylinder piston system having movable means arranged in response to pressure fluid acting thereupon to fold said side portions away from said central portion, spring means arranged in response to the release of fluid pressure from said cylinder piston system to cause said side portions to fold toward said central portion, holding fingers manually movable into a first position for engag- 13 ing a garment on said garment support, and means operatively connected with said holding fingers and responsive to the folding of said side portions toward said central portion automatically to lift said fingers off said garment.

14. In combination in a garment-folding apparatus: a garment support having a central portion and two side portions, said side portions being arranged for selective folding movement toward or away from said central portion, supporting means supporting said garment support in cantilever manner, frame means pivotally supporting said supporting means to allow tilting of said supporting means about an axis substantially perpendicular to the side edges of said central and side portions, a cylinder supported by said supporting means, two pistons reciprocably mounted in said cylinder and operable in response to the admission of fluid pressure to said cylinder to move away from each other, a pair of racks respectively movably connected to said pistons, a pair of pinions respectively meshing with said racks, and a pair of arms respectively interconnecting each of said side portions with one of said pinions, the arrangement being such that movement of said racks away from each other causes said side portions to tilt in one direction while movement of said racks toward each other causes said side portions to tilt in the opposite direction.

15. An apparatus according to claim 14, in which said racks respectively have associated therewith spring means for moving said racks toward each other, the spring means associated with one rack being of different characteristic from the spring means associated with the other rack to thereby effect the return movement of one rack and the side portion connected to the pinion meshing therewith at a speed different from the return movement of the other rack and of the side portion connected to the pinion meshing with said last mentioned rack.

16. In combination in a garment-folding apparatus: a garment support having a central portion and two side portions, said side portions being selectively foldable toward or away from said central portion, supporting means supporting said garment support in cantilever manner, frame means pivotally supporting said supporting means to allow tilting of said supporting means about an axis substantially perpendicular to the side edges of said central and side portions, a fluid operable cylinder piston arrangement supported by said supporting means and including two reciprocable members operable in response to the admission of fluid pressure to said cylinder piston arrangement to move away from each other, a pair of racks respectively connected to said reciprocable members and movable therewith, spring means respectively associated with said reciprocable members for continuously urging said reciprocable members to move toward each other, a pair of pinions respectively meshing with said racks, a pair of holding fingers manually movable into engagement with a garment on said garment support, and control means operatively connected with said holding fingers and said pinions and operable automatically to lift said fingers off a garment on said garment support in response to the movement of said reciprocable members toward each other, said control means including a lever and a yieldable abutment pivotally con nected to said lever and also including spring means having one end connected to a stationary point and having its other end connected to said yieldable abutment and further including cam means respectively connected to each of said pinions for engagement with said abutment.

17. An apparatus according to claim 16, in which the spring means having one end connected to the yieldable abutment is arranged to move and hold the abutment supporting lever in off-center position.

18. In combination in a garment-folding apparatus: a garment support having :a central portion and two side portions, said side portions being selectively foldable toward or away from said central portion, frame means, supporting means tiltably mounted in said frame means and supporting said garment support in cantilever manner, first pressure fluid operable cylinder piston means operatively connected to said tiltable supporting means for selectively tilting the same, second fluid pressure operable cylinder piston means operatively connected with said side portions for selectively folding the latter toward or away from said central portion, a pressure fluid supply system arranged for selectively supplying pressure fluid to said first and second cylinder piston means, an exhaust conduit system arranged for selectively exhausting said first and said second cylinder piston means, a band supply system supported by said frame and arranged to hold a supply of bands to be placed around a garment folded on said garment support, a nozzle communicating with said exhaust conduit system, and a band feeder movably mounted in said frame and operable to feed a band from said band supply system to said nozzle.

19. A method of folding a garment, especially a shirt, having a collar and being open from the collar down to the bottom, which includes the steps of: supporting the upper central portion of the garment over a width from one shoulder portion to the other shoulder portion while the bosom side of the garment is up, aligning the button hole strip and the button strip of said garment with each other, clamping the thus aligned strips together, tucking the lower central portion of the garment underneath the supported upper central portion, holding the garment in the thus folded condition while turning the folded garment so that the bosom side is down and the tucked-under side is up, and folding those portions of the garment which are located laterally of said central portion across said tucked-under portion over a width substantially corresponding to the distance between said shoulder portions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,226,231 Morse Dec. 24, 1940 2,567,385 Lighter Sept. 11, 1951 2,616,595 Arruda Nov. 4, 1952 2,629,521 Johnson et a1. Feb. 24, 1953 2,639,065 Forse et al. May 19, 1953 2,654,511 Calder Oct. 6, 1953 2,665,039 Neckel Jan. 5, 1954 2,727,660 Neckel Dec. 20, 1955 

